By David Boles, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Great West Media
Whether you’re headed to the registry in Castor, St. Paul, or anywhere else in Alberta to renew your driver’s licence, you’ll soon notice that it may look different.
The United Conservative government announced Wednesday it will be including proof of citizenship, as well as Alberta Health Care numbers, on driver’s licences going forward.
The change is set to take effect on July 2nd.
“This is about making everyday life simpler and making government services easier to access when you need them,” said St. Albert-Morinville MLA and Minister of Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally in a video posted to social media on Wednesday morning, June 3.
Other jurisdictions in Canada that have already taken similar action include British Columbia, which has combined the driver’s licence and health care number onto one card.
The inclusion of citizenship on driver’s licences seems to be in line with the UCP government’s referendum questions to Albertans that will be answered this fall, with four focused on provincial efforts to restrict services to non-Canadian residents.
Those questions, along with one regarding Alberta’s place in Canada, will be voted on on Oct. 19.
The addition of the health care number on card would also mean the paper card issued in Alberta for years wouldn’t be needed.
There’s been mixed reaction to the move, with the official opposition NDP saying while it supports a modern system, the current government isn’t going about things the right way.
“Only the UCP would turn an ID card into a political tool by adding a citizenship marker, while also spending tens of millions of dollars on a referendum that could put at risk the Canadian citizenship of every Albertan,” said Gurinder Brar, the party’s shadow minister for Service Alberta.
In December 2025, Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner Diane McLeod expressed concern in a letter with the idea that the government is now proceeding to move forward with, saying it could lead to more fraud with health care numbers being able to be obtained at places that aren’t health care facilities.
“Personal health numbers of Canadians are a sought-after commodity on the dark web due to our publicly funded healthcare system. Use of someone’s PHN to access medical care could result in the wrong health information appearing in their record, which could cause them harm,” she said.
In addition to fraud, McLeod said in her letter that she advised the UCP government not to do this, as the agency responsible for driver’s licences is not subject to privacy laws.
“They will hold highly sensitive health information of all Albertans, with no corresponding duty to protect this information and no consequences for breaches. There is also no oversight by my office,” she said.
